iPhone 5 versus Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5 Side-by-side

I went hiking last week with my camera and my iPhone 5 and decided to do a little comparison between the two cameras.  It was an impromptu equipment test, otherwise I would have added a Canon Powershot to the mix.  I used the iPhone camera at its default point-and-shoot settings, but played with the Panasonic exposure settings a bit. I'm not an expert photographer, but I am impressed with the results from the iPhone even though there is less control over the picture settings than with the Panasonic.

Rattlesnake Lake
iPhone:

Panasonic:

Moss covered tree in the woods

iPhone: 

Panasonic:

Snoqualamie Falls

iPhone:

Panasonic:

31 for 31

I have been exercising a minimum of 31 minutes per day and plan on doing it for all 31 days of December-- 31 for 31.

Since right before the Kirkland Triathalon in September, I've been battling injury and illness.  My running pretty much stopped after I injured my back for the second time in 2 months after doing a running group run in October. Somehow between then and now, I became a sit-in-front-of-the-tv blob.

Thus, the 31 for 31 goal is getting me off the couch and I'm taking this time to both learn about training using the target heart rate method, and exploring the exertion necessary for different activities to hit this target heart rate.

It has been a week so far, and I have run, biked, jumped on a trampoline, and played Dance Dance Revolution for my 31 minute daily workouts.  Running or crazy-legged spinning are the two easiest ways to get my target heart rate up.  But I have to say the DDR was the most fun and a good upper body stretch/workout too.  

I'm finding that the variety helps and I'm more motivated when I have something different (and indoors away from the rain) to look forward to.  

One week down, three more to go!

The Lululemon Sea Wheeze Half Marathon and Why I Run.

This posting is actually two blog posts in one because the Lululemon Sea Wheeze Half Marathon made me pause and think about WHY I run in a way that no other race has done.

From a race perspective, the best part of the Sea Wheeze was the magnificent course. However, I do have some hard learned lessons from the Sea Wheeze:

Lesson 1: Train according to your fitness level. Not all canned training plans are for everyone. 
For the Sea Wheeze, I had put together my own training plan several months ago, but scrapped it to run according to the Lululemon's training plan. This was a big mistake because the Lululemon plan was easier than what I had originally planned for myself. It incorporated yoga sessions in between short sprint runs and a very slow progression of increasing distance runs. It was probably designed for non-experienced runners and was intended to highlight the free yoga classes and runs at Lululemon stores. My body wanted to do more miles, but I was tired/busy/lazy so I stuck with the Lululemon plan because it fit my tired/busy/lazy mindset. The end result was a tired and lazy race.

Lesson 2: Less race information =  More self-sufficient runner
Races are complicated affairs, and this was the inaugural running of the Sea Wheeze, so I mentally prepared myself for a few snafus. The race had a cute looking webpage that did not provide much information about the actual race.  The online course map was vague with few noted water stations or restrooms--which are common race problems in my experience.

I wore a water belt with one flask of water on race day, and it was my best decision of the race.  There were water stations approximately every 5K (3 miles), and the third water station had run out of paper cups and was handing out water in large, tripping hazard, plastic cups.  After the race I heard that they asked people to share cups (though I didn't witness it myself).

Restrooms were also scarce. To my surprise, there were portable restrooms at the 1K mark with a line of only 3 people.  Against my better judgment, I passed this restroom and the next one ended up being a few miles later and had a really really long line. There were no convenient open businesses to stop in for restroom breaks along most of the route, and I killed a total of 15 minutes waiting for one portable restroom or the other.

Lesson 3: Good races don't need hype
The purpose of this race was to increase Lululemon's bottom line. Period.  It started with the e-mails telling us there would be cute 'race-expo-only' Lululemon products. Then in-store salespeople hints at 'something extra special' at the end of the race. To the mailed polka-dot shorts with inspirational training post-cards.

Once we got to Vancouver, the race expo consisted of racks of Lululemon clothes in a single Convention Center room. The expo was open to the public, and none of the clothes had 'Sea Wheeze' specific text. As a result, there was a lot of visible hoarding.  It's what I imagine a Star Wars figurine sale at Comic-con would look like, except most of the people were blonde and tan female 20-somethings that were (from the empty clothing racks) size 4 or smaller.  The Lululemon people created a successful 'demand by limitation' scenario. There was very little product selection available after only a few hours on the first day.

During the race, almost everybody wore Lululemon gear.  A few miles into the race I noticed that I hadn't seen a single charity run shirt.  I hadn't realized that the special "Run in Memory of..." or "I beat Cancer"-type shirts were so motivating to a race until I did a race that didn't have a single one of these shirts.  I had miles and time to think about it... do the profits from this race go back to Lululemon? The registration fee was a steep $130 for a half marathon, and there was nary a mention of charity fundraising.

This race was so centered on this one clothing company that there was no sincere feeling of community.  I didn't wear a single lick of Lululemon clothing that day and I got obvious looks of disdain while I ran.  After a while, these looks got to me.  They made me angry. My achilles started to hurt and I started to walk. Then I started to feel defeated. I could care less about these Lululemon people, and there was no other motivating factor for this race.  Good races give you something to care about and a reason to run.  This was not a good race.

To finish it off, there was actually no 'special surprise' after the race.  No race shirt. Just a weird keychain on shoelace medal-substitute. Maybe the surprise was the post-race buffet? I did like the waffles, fruit, and granola bars (real food, no post-race elixirs in a can). Or maybe the surprise was that the race was actually 13.6 not 13.1 miles.  The course is longer than an officially sanctioned half marathon. Surprise!

Why do I run? 

I used to have the "It's only a Half" mindset. And it's a good mindset to have because I honestly believe the half marathon distance is challenging but not too physically destructive with proper training. However, this race made me want to quit running for the rest of my life.  Not because it was that hard of a course. Or because I was that out-of-shape. But because my MIND was just OVER it.

I guess running has become a love-hate relationship for me.

I've been running consistently for over a decade now, and it wasn't until the last two years that my dedication to running has started to wane.  This past winter, I felt especially unmotivated in most aspects of my life, and running in the dreary cold rain was just one of them.

I trained for the Sea Wheeze, but it felt like I just 'phoned it in'. Something has happened that I never imagined 5 years ago. My ligaments and tendons are starting to feel old, and I'm chronically creaky and achy now. For the first time during this race I became more concerned with preventing injury than with pushing through the demons. So the question is, what do I do to motivate myself again? And WHY do I want to motivate myself again?

Why I run is easy. I run for the feel good endorphins. I run to think more clearly. I run to remember what youth and freedom feel like. I run to numb the pain.  I run for the feeling of scrubbed lungs and a strong heart.  I run so I can enjoy food without guilt. I run to be social, and I run to be alone.

Motivating myself to run long distance is become harder to justify. I'm afraid of problematic injuries (I already have a muscle cramp issue). There are lots of other fun sports and activities besides running.  Worst of all, running races has lost its appeal-- especially with the proliferation of races that are less about running and more about making money.

So what's my plan? I'm not sure I have one yet. Though I intend to do a 5K when I am 80 years old, and need to make sure I keep myself in shape for it.  I guess the real question is, what do I do in the several decades between now and then to ensure I make this goal?

Spectating the Kona Ironman Triathalon

Last month I spectated the Kona Ironman Triathalon and it was an amazing experience. I had only seen this race on television. I can only imagine it was even more amazing as a participant.

For those of you not familiar with the Kona Ironman, this was the World Championship race for the Ironman triathalon distance. The participants first swim 2.4 miles, then bike 112 miles, then run a marathon (26.2) miles for a total of 140.6 miles covered in one day. For Ironman triathalons in general, pros finish the race in 9 to 10 hours, the average participant finishes in 12 to 13 hours. In Kona, the pros finish in 8.5 to 9.5 hours, and the average participant finishes in 10.5 to 11.5 hours.

The friend who invited me watch the race with her, Shannon, knows a lot more about this race than I do. And there is plenty of information about training for, getting into, and participating in the race itself on the internet. One factoid Shannon noted, however, is that she couldn't find any information on the web about spectating for this race--something I'm going to try to rectify. Because of the course design, it was relatively simple to spectate and support participants at the Kona Ironman.

The race went out and back from a 2 block radius in Kona as the hub. Most of our spectating was done within 1/2 miles of the King Kamehameha hotel which was the official race hotel. The race start was in the water in the bay in front of the hotel:




The red flag shows the position of the hotel. We got great views and were able to cheer from Palani road as the racers cycled and ran up and down this road several times. They finished the race arriving towards the hotel from Alii Drive.

The best views of the transition area were probably from the tall banyan tree-- though we didn't get there early enough to climb and get a prime spot (and police officers were preventing people from climbing on the backside of the tree). The tree is in front of the race start and by the swim transition so we stood by the tree for a while and watched the swimmers leave, return, and then head-out on their bikes from this viewing location. The swim portion was crowded and almost looked like a fish feeding frenzy. This was confirmed after the race when we heard that people were swimming on top of each other and kicking each other during the swim. We also heard, however, that there was a school of dolphins in the water swimming by the race start as well.



The cut-off time for the swim is 2 hrs 20 min, so waiting for people to finish wasn't too bad. Once we saw them off on their bikes, we went off for lunch at Quinn's which is on Palani. The fish dishes were just okay, but the people who had burgers said they were pretty good. However, Quinn's had temporarily set-up outdoor seating to view the race and it was a great place to see both the cyclists coming into the transition and the runners heading out for the last portion:



For the grueling part of the marathon, we stood a block up the hill on Palani and cheered people on. This portion (north of the Queen K Highway) was approximately 9 miles into the marathon and a serious hill. I bought a cow bell at the Ironman tent store which was in the hotel parking lot and cheered people on until after the sun went down.



The finish was right by the swim start off of Alii, and people were lined up along Alii cheering on people as they finished:

From Hawaii, 2011

Some other notes for spectators:

Tracking athletes
I was able to track the race using my Android smartphone. Unfortunately there is no 4G in Kona, and generally the signal strength in town was weak (Sprint is my carrier). We discovered that the race organizers had set-up workstations connected to the internet in a corner of the hotel lobby that people were using to track racers and watch the online race footage. It became the place to check on our racers' progress as they passed certain check points and calculate how long it would take them to get to a certain point in the race. It was also a nice place to get a break from the sun and enjoy a little bit of air conditioning.

Ironman merchandise
Several of the local shops were selling Ironman merchandise before, during, and after the race. The official Ironman merchandise tent, however, closed the day after the race. They had the best selection and for you bargain hunters, they had started to mark down t-shirts after the swim cut-off had completed. Also, the Wal-mart a few blocks up Pulani from the hotel had Ironman shirts for sale the weeks before the race also.

Calculating where to be when
This applies to all races, not just this one. This was the first time I had ever cheered on specific runners for any race, but I used the same basic math that I use when I'm running to calculate pace and estimated distance. All you need to know is the racers' estimated pace, start time, and where you are on the course. For example, if a person is running 10 min/mile pace and you are 9 miles into the marathon course, then the person will be running past you about 10 x 9= 90 minutes after they start the run portion. All you need to keep track of is when they hit each transition and add the estimated time onto that. I'm sure somewhere there is an App for keeping track of this.

And finally, the maps of the ironman course are here: http://ironman.com/events/ironman/worldchampionship/?show=maps#axzz1cx1y6FKv

Spectating for this race is so much fun-- especially in the run portion when these competitors have been out on the course for hours and still have a marathon to complete, and are running past the spectators so we can see the pain and grimaces. The pros are amazing to watch, but it's the 'regular' people that really inspire me. They don't make excuses not to train or participate. They don't quit. I have something to learn from these people!

The before and after and after after

I've moved a lot and know how busy and tiring it is, but this is the first time that I've bought a house and this has felt at least 10-times more exhausting than a normal condo purchase. The combination of dealing with the contractors that sold me the house and that fixed up the house (a frustrating experience worth a full other post), buying the stuff to use and maintain the house, moving, then fixing/maintaining the house is a lot of work. Especially for one person. And especially when there is a time deadline.

I'm finally at a point where I can now relax and fix/arrange things at a leisurely pace. Now is the time to finally post some pictures!

This is what the main floor bathroom looked like when I closed on the house. The wood floor was rotting and the countertop was cracked all the way across:



This is what the main floor bathroom looks like now. I picked the finishes from the contractor, but didn't see the actual cabinet until after it was installed. It's a little too big for the bathroom, but works well for now:



The house was missing a lot of the 'finishing touch' woodwork. The crown moulding did not go all the way to the ceiling and the bookcases had been painted grey and the detailwork was missing. These are some pictures from before the contractors started, during the process of adding additional moulding, and after painting and moving in:









And these are some photos of the final results. I posted more pictures in my Picasa account of the before, during, and after for those of you who are curious (just e-mail me for the link).





The kitchen and dining area:



The main floor bedroom (a.k.a. guest room):



The top floor bedroom and bath after new carpet, paint, and adding 3 solar tube lights:








The entrance from the driveway and the ground-level basement (disregard the boxes which need to be unpacked/put-away):









And finally, the flowers that my mom planted in the front are still alive. Yes, Mom, I have been watering them:



Next steps: The new windows are supposed to be installed in September. Then I will get new curtains and window shades. And I also plan on adding a carport to both provide some shelter from the rain and increase resale value of the house (which might not mean much if the economy keeps heading down the current path).

My house is like a Beverly Hills Socialite

According to real estate records, my house was built in 1911 and is 100 years old. From the street it doesn't look older than 50, and from inside the front door it looks like it could be between 30 to 40 years old.

Like a Beverly Hills Socialite, this house has had a lot of work done on it over the years to hide the age. Unfortunately, it's not subtle and this house has had a lot of obvious facelifts.

As an example, this is what the house looked like last February (2011) before the house flippers got their hands on it:




And this is what the house that I purchased looks like:



If you look at it carefully, you'll notice that the flippers removed the architectural supports to the cupola over the front door, and the spindle posts of the front railing. What you can't see easily are the covered porch and two second floor balconies that were removed.

On the inside of the house, there is a little tiny bit left of the original millwork to hint at the age. There is also some awkwardness in the layout, and lower ceilings in the basement and stairwells that hint that this is an old house.

As a person who likes the handcrafted detailing in old houses, I do think it's a shame that a lot of this was removed from my house over the years. The kitchen cabinets have a sticker on them that say they were built in the 70's, and the cabinets around the fireplace look like they were probably built when ranch-style houses were popular:



This photo was taken before the house flippers purchased the property in March. They painted the wood cabinets a modern grey color instead of refinishing the wood which actually looks okay, but is not true to the period of the house.

The bathrooms were also updated more recently:



It's obvious that previous owners of this house focused more on function than on preservation. With all that it lost, this house did gain something. All of these remodels and renovations means that almost everything in and on the house is new or updated. I don't have to worry about typical old house problems like removing old electrical wiring, or converting from oil heating to central gas heat. Plus, some of the renovations make the house a lot more practical for living than if it were true to the period. For example, the interior walls between the kitchen, dining, and living rooms have been removed and it is all now one big great room.

Going forward, I'm having some more work done on the house before I move in. One of these is to replace the single pane windows of the house with something more energy efficient and secure. Though I'm trying to be cost conscious, I decided to splurge and get better quality windows with some architectural detailing that would be a little more true to its appropriate age. What I'm learning is that replacing architecturally appropriate detailing is $$$.

I'm also replacing the floor and vanity to the main floor bathroom (pictured above). The wood floors in the bathroom are rotting around the bathtub, and the vanity countertop has a crack across the entire length. Now I have a dilemma. I'm not replacing the 70's tub or stone shower tiles because of cost constraints so I'm trying to decide what kind of flooring and vanity to install that would be true to the original (1911) house's architecture but would still match the existing tub and shower tile.

I'm mindful of something the window contractor said after examining all of my windows. He said that at least I don't have to make the painful decision of whether to replace the original beautiful and detailed (drafty and leaky) leaded glass windows. Instead I get to make the decision to re-establish the original beauty to the house.

This house has been on this earth a heckuva lot longer than me, and will probably be here long after I'm gone. As temporary steward of the place, I get to correct the bad facelifts and make the house look more natural. Hopefully this doesn't turn out to be so painful that I opt for new condo living afterwards.

An example where spending a little money now can save lots later

The road to closing the purchase on the house was a little bumpy, but it closed on time and I am now a first-time house owner.

The advice that a good house inspector is worth a little extra money was definitely true in my case. During my initial inspection he noted that the sellers, concentrating on building the new house next door, removed my sewer access. This really annoyed my house inspector because it's not legal. After several calls between the real estate agents and sellers, I was told they were planning on putting a brand new sewer line in for me as part of the build for the new neighboring house. To make up for our trouble, the sellers offered to insulate my attic and accepted almost everything on my 10 item contingency (to do before closing) list. I was happy with that.

For the re-inspection, I decided to have the house inspector come back because I didn't have the experience to tell whether some of the items on my contingency list were done properly. One of them was the sewer. My real estate agent didn't think it was necessary for me to pay the extra $50 for a sewer scope (where they feed a camera into the pipes to see the inside) since the sellers were putting in a brand new line. The inspector recommended otherwise. I took the inspector's advice, and it turned out to be $50 very well spent.

While scoping the new sewer line, the inspector found a break between the new PVC sewer pipes and a foot long section of old clay pipe (Video of the sewer-scope with the breakage at approximately 2 minutes). Basically, my sewer was not connected to the city's sewer line and was seeping into the ground. My inspector tracked this seepage to between the sidewalk and foundation of the neighboring new construction.

One call from my agent and the seller's real estate agent was out to the house immediately to see the problem for himself. He said it would be fixed ASAP. If I hadn't paid the $50 for the sewer scope, it could have cost me $10,000 or more to fix this problem and the neighbors would have literally been in deep doo doo.

The sewer connection was fixed the next day and the sewer contractor proved it to me by doing a sewer scope while I watched. I saw all new PVC piping to the street and no obvious breaks in the line. The sewer contractor said that the 'breakage' was caused by soil shifting when the new foundation was placed on top of the pipe and the new connection now has more tolerance and shouldn't fail if the soil shifts.

Since there is a one year warranty on the sewer work, my real estate agent suggested that I talk with the new neighbors and have another sewer scope within a year after the house is built and soil has settled a bit. It's a good suggestion that I'll be sure to do.

My first big house-owner lesson: spending a little money and time now can save you money and grief later.

P.S. My home inspector was Hartman Home Inspections. He's a little more expensive, but his work paid for itself 20x over.